Going Home On The Rails Of Letting Go
by Rasiaa
Summary: A resignation form, Harry? This wouldn't have anything to do with the train leaving this September, would it?


_It's my headcanon that Harry was an auror only until Teddy had to go to school, then he took up teaching DADA while Hermione was Transfiguration._

* * *

"What's this?"

Kingsley reached forward and grabbed the folder Harry set on his desk and started to flip through it. With every turn of the page, his eyebrows rose further.

"A resignation form, Harry?" the Minister questioned, and glanced back up to the twenty-eight year old inquisitively.

Emerald green eyes blinked behind circular glasses, and Harry thinned his lips and gave a swift nod. Kingsley narrowed his eyes. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the train leaving this September, would it?" he inquired.

"It would, sir," Harry responded.

There was silence for a moment. Then, "You'll be a wonderful teacher, Harry. You did very well the first time you tried, after all."

Harry blinked, and a smile spread across his face. "Thank you, Kingsley."

The other man inclined his head in turn, and Harry Potter swept out of the office.

…

"It'll be weird without you around," Ron said later, twirling his wedding ring around his finger- a signal of his anxiety.

"You'll be fine, Ron," Hermione replied. "It's only a few months."

Harry grinned when Ron snorted. "I'll be sleeping alone for the first time in ten years for a few months. Yeah, that's a great comfort, love, thank you."

"You're quite welcome."

Ron rolled his eyes and turned his gaze to Harry, eyes unreadable. "I'm surprised you're doing this, mate," are his words.

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it and tossed a picture onto the table. "You can't honestly say that."

Teddy grinned up at the camera from inside the picture, front teeth missing and hair colored bright blue. He waved and laughed, the dictionary definition of a happy child. Ron's eyes softened. "I suppose," he said.

"We'll be back for Christmas," Harry and Hermione promised. "And you can always stop by the Three Broomsticks if you need something," Harry added. Hermione hit his arm.

…

"Dad!" Teddy cried in delight, running up to Harry and hugging him tightly. Harry laughed lightly and couched down to reach Teddy easier, hugging the child close.

"Hey, kiddo," Harry greeted, pulling back and standing. He reached out and ruffled Teddy's green hair fondly as he saw Ginny come from the living room with Lily perched on her hip. He could hear James and Al playing in the other room. "How's it going?" he asked Ginny, who shrugged.

"It's going," she said easily. "We got another request for an interview, this time for some small-time magazine hoping for a big shot- but I shredded it. Luna is coming to stay in two days- I got her letter this morning after you left."

Harry nodded, used to both pieces of information. As a rule he never gave interviews, but that didn't stop them from coming, which served only to get on his nerves. Luna often had to travel for her work, so she just left the twins with her husband while she was away and stayed over with Harry and Ginny when she came into town. He had been wondering when she'd stop by again.

He walked into the kitchen and stopped. "Jamie broke the table," Ginny said from behind him, and he shuffled aside to allow her entry. "So I told him he could fix it so he could show you what he did."

And fix it; James had tried. The table was now wonderfully lopsided, with the broken leg taped up with children's duct tape and band-aids. Harry's lips thinned and he waved his wand, watching the whole colorful array come apart. "Did you let James know that he's grounded?" Harry inquired, and Ginny nodded.

"Of course he is," she agreed.

Lily clapped in delight and her parents snickered. "Jamie bad!" Lily cried, obviously taken by the idea. Ginny laughed and pressed a kiss to Lily's head.

"Of course he is," she repeated, much to the happiness of her daughter.

…

"This is it."

Harry wasn't sure who said it.

But it certainly summed up the whole situation.

Teddy was bouncing with excitement, practically buzzing as Ginny checked and rechecked that he had everything in his bags and buttoned his coat, despite the fact that it was only seventy degrees outside. Harry knew it was her way of fretting.

He glanced over and saw Ron drag Hermione around the corner, an oddly determined look on his face for a man who only had ten minutes.

If he was really terrible, he'd succeed in his mission, but Hermione had told Ginny once that Ron wasn't that bad.

Harry had replied that he never wanted to hear that again.

The warning whistle sounded and Ginny became more frantic in her movements. He saw the glistening tears in her eyes and tugged her away from Teddy, into his arms. She looked at him for a long moment before burying her face into his coat. "I know, Gin," he whispered, burying his face into her hair and pressing a lingering kiss on the red strands. "It's hard for me, too."

She pulled away with a sigh. There was a red line around her eyes, but no tear tracts on her face and his shoulder was dry. She hadn't cried, just like he had expected. "He's all grown up," she whispered brokenly, instead, eyes lingering on her godchild, her first son.

Harry nodded. "He is," he agreed. She shut her eyes tightly and took a deep breath, opening them in time to see the red-haired child hop onto the train. "And he'll be fine," he assured, also watching. "He won't go there and find the hell we did."

Ginny nodded. "It's hard to dismiss," she admitted.

"I know," he said. "That's why I'm going." The minute-whistle sounded and Ron and Hermione returned, both looking much more ragged than before. Harry shook his head in amusement and kissed Ginny again. "I'll write," he promised, releasing her and walking onto the train.

"You'd better, Harry Potter!" she called after him, as the train started to move.

He waved to her and she waved back, and then the train station walls blocked their view.

He let his arm fall and sighed. Then he turned and moved to find Hermione, determined to not allow his first ride back home be miserable.


End file.
